Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota · Public
Graduate earnings
9of 9 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical South Dakota high-school graduate (about $36,976 a year).
9 of 53 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 44: 40 with no earnings published and 4 with nothing reported. 1 verdict uses 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 17 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$15,812 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$15,812 a year
About $63,248 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $10,762 |
| $30k to $48k | $12,087 |
| $48k to $75k | $15,293 |
| $75k to $110k | $18,372 |
| $110k and up | $17,933 |
| All families (average) | $15,812 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical South Dakota high-school graduate ($36,976 a year).
11 of 70 programs could be assessed 16% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum and Instruction | Master's Degree | $49,669 | +$12,693 | above HS line | not published | not assessed | 46 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Bachelor's Degree | $44,147 | +$7,171 | clears the bar | $20,500 | 2.9 yrs | 35 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Bachelor's Degree | $53,484 | +$16,508 | clears the bar | $24,150 | 1.5 yrs | 30 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $56,571 | +$19,595 | clears the bar | $23,000 | 1.2 yrs | 26 |
| Accounting | Bachelor's Degree | $67,072 | +$30,096 | clears the bar | $25,000 | 0.8 yrs | 20 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $70,545 | +$33,569 | clears the bar | $21,862 | 0.7 yrs | 18 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $45,921 | +$8,945 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $50,765 | +$13,789 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Kinesiology and Physical Education | Master's Degree | $40,7241-year earnings | +$3,748 | above HS line (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Finance | Bachelor's Degree | $48,324 | +$11,348 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Marketing | Bachelor's Degree | $45,8911-year earnings | +$8,915 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $23,250 | 2.6 yrs | 7 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 28 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 24 |
| Criminal Justice | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Special Education | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Educational Administration | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Biology | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Biotechnology | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Business Administration | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Applied Mathematics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Design | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Mental Health and Counseling Services | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Finance | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Special Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Medical Laboratory Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| IT Administration and Management | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Criminal Justice | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Area Studies | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Area Studies | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Biotechnology | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Mathematics | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Criminal Justice | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| History | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Computer and Information Science | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Educational Administration | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Mathematics | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| International/Globalization Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Geography and Cartography | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Political Science | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Design | Associate's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Music | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Finance | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| International Business | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Gerontology | Associate's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Finance | Associate's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Management Information Systems | Bachelor's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $36,976 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
Compare with another college · Report an error · Methodology